Seeper valve assembly



March 11, 1958 J. L. KIRALY ETAL SEEPER VALVE ASSEMBLY IIIIIIIII Filed March 19, 1956 United States Patent Q .SEEPER VALVE ASSEMBLY Joseph L. Kiraly, La Grange Park, and Alvin Gaines, Oak Park, Ill., assignors to Aerosol Research Company, a corporation of Iliinois Application March 19, 1956, Serial No. 572,283

Claims. (Cl. 299 -24) This invention relates to a seeper valve assembly, and is particularly concerned with means to permit the contents of an aerosol container to be slowly evaporated, as distinguished from valve assemblies which discharge a liquid in, the form of a stream or spray.

The container is provided with a large opening into which a mounting cup is adapted to besealed. The mounting cup is provided with a centrally disposed, upstanding, peripherally threaded boss formed from the material of the cup. A tube holder is press fitted within the boss, and a pad of suitable filter material is interposed between the top of the tube holder and the underside of the top of the boss. The tube holder has a vertical bore extending therethrough, and the top of the boss has an aperture aligned with the vertical bore of said tube holder. A removable cover has a recess in its bottom adapted to fit over the top of the boss, and the side wall of the recess is threaded to engage thethreads on the outer surface of the boss. The cover is preferably provided with lateral projections similar to a wing nut to facilitate securement to and removal from the threaded b'oss. A flat annular gasket of any suitable sealing material such as, for example, neoprene is interposed between the top of the. boss and the underside of the removable cover. The gasket is preferably secured to the underside of the cover in any suitable manner, but may be secured to the top of the boss, if desired. When the cover is tightened in place it cooperates with the gasket to form a gas tight seal which prevents access of the at mosphere to the aperture and thereby prevents evaporation of the liquid from the saturated filter pad. When the cover is removed, the filter material is exposed to the atmosphere through the aperture in the top of the boss, and so permits the absorbed liquid to slowly evaporate. The filter material completely closes the aperture in the top of the boss and prevents the contents of the container from issuing from the container in the form of a stream. The filter material is constantly wetted by the liquid contents as long as any liquid remains in the container, because of the pressure within the container. The pressure within the container is suflicient to restore to the filter material a quantity of liquid equal to that which is evaporated therefrom by exposure to the air.

The filter pad may be formed of fiber glass, sintered porous powdered metal, blotting paper, filter paper, or any other suitable non-liquid filter media. ,The rate of discharge is controlled by varying the porosity of the filter media and/ or the pressure within the container. The pressure within the container is preferably about 25 pounds per square inch, but may be anywhere within the range of from to 60 pounds per square inch. The lower pressure is the minimum that will insure discharge of the contents. The rate of discharge may be adjusted so that the fumes or vapors are dissipated to atmosphere immediately upon release from the container. The contents of the container may be completely discharged by one continuous exposure, or the cover may be reapplied to stop the discharge at any time and save the remaining contents for subsequent discharge. The discharge rate 2, may be maintained at a low level, say about one ounce per hour.

The structure by which the above mentioned and other advantages of the invention are attained will be described in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a can provided with a seeper valve assembly embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional View of the seeper valve assembly in closed position;

Fig. 3 is across sectional view showing; the seeper valve assembly in open position; and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the cover.

In the drawings the reference numeral 2 indicates a container in the form of a can having alarge opening into which a mounting cup 3 is fitted. The mounting cup is provided with anupstanding cylindrical wall 4 having a peripheral flange 5 which extends outwardly .and downwardly to engage an annular rib (not shown) surrounding the opening. The underside of flange 5 is coated with sealing composition 6 to form a gas tight seal between the can and the mounting cup. The mounting, cup has a centrally disposed upstanding cylindrical boss 7 threaded on its exterior surface adjacent its upper end, as indicated at 8. Boss 7 is provided with a flat top 9 having an aperture 10 therein.

The underside of top 9 is completely covered by a filter pad 11 of any suitable material, such as, for example, fiber glass, sintered porous. powdered metal, blotting paper, filter paper, or other non-liquid filter media. .A tube holder 12 press fitted within boss 7 in contiguous relationship to the underside of the filter pad is provided with a vertical bore 13 and a depending tubular nipple 14. A dip tube 15 having its upper end secured to nipple 14 extends to a point adjacent the, bottom of the container so that as long as any liquid is left in the container the pressure within the container will force the liquid upwardly through the dip tube to wet the filter pad and keep it saturated.

A cover 16 provided with a recess 17 adapted to engage boss 7 is threaded, as indicated at 18, to engage threads 8. A flat annular gasket 19, of neoprene or similar sealing material, is positioned within recess 17 in position to engage the outer peripheral portion of top 9 when cover 16 is screwed down on boss 7. Gasket 19 surrounds aperture 10 and prevents leakage of the contents of the can when cover 16 is screwed tightly on boss 7. Cover 16 is provided with lateral extensions 20 to facilitate manipulation of the cover relative to boss 7 so that the can may be easily opened or closed.

When cover 16 is removed the can is open, and the liquid contents which saturate filter pad 11 will evaporate through aperture 10 at'a rate determined by the size of the aperture, the pressure within the can, and the nature of the filter media. If the can is intended for a single use the cover is not replaced, but if it is desirable to spread the use of the contents the cover may be replaced at any time to stop the evaporation of the contents.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of the invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, we do not desire to be restricted to the exact details of construction described.

We claim:

1. A seeper valve assembly comprising a mounting cup provided with a centrally disposed upstanding boss, said boss having a fiat top provided with an aperture therein, a tube holder fitted in said boss, at filter pad positioned in said boss between said tube holder and said flat top, said 3 filter pad being adapted to absorb liquid to which it is constantly exposed and to evaporate said liquid to the atmosphere through said aperture, and means detachably securable to said boss to seal said aperture from the atmosphere.

2, A seeper valve assembly comprising a mounting cup having a centrally disposed upstanding cylindrical boss,

the upper portion of the periphery of said boss having an exterior thread, a tube holder fitted in said boss, said boss having a flat top above said tube holder, a filter pad within said boss between said tube holder and said top, said top having an aperture extending therethrough to expose the underlying portion of said filter pad to the atmosphere, said tube holder having a vertical bore aligned with said aperture, a removable cover provided with a recess threaded interiorly to fit on said boss, and an annular sealing gasket in said recess, said gasket being adapted to seal said aperture from the atmosphere when said cover is screwed in place on said boss.

3. In combination, an aerosol container having a top with an opening therein, a mounting cup seated in said opening to seal said opening against the escape of gas held under pressure in said container, said mounting cup having a .centrally disposed upstanding boss, said boss having a flat top with a centrally disposed aperture extending therethrough, a filter pad within said boss, said filter pad covering said aperture, a tube holder secured Within said boss beneath said filter pad, said tube holder having a vertical bore aligned with said aperture and a depending tubular nipple, a dip tube secured to said nipple and extending into said container, whereby pressure within said container is adapted to force the liquid content of said container upwardly through said tube and said vertical bore to wet said filter pad, said filter pad being adapted to evaporate said absorbed liquid to the atmosphere upon exposure of said pad'to the atmosphere through said aperture, and a cover removably engageable with said mounting cup to seal said filter pad against exposure to the atmosphere.

4. In combination, an aerosol container having a top with an opening therein, a mounting cup seated in said opening to seal said opening against the escape of gas held under pressure in said container, said mounting cup having a centrally disposed upstanding boss, said boss having a flat top with a centrally disposed aperture extending therethrough, a filter pad within said boss, said filter pad covering said aperture, a tube holder secured within said boss beneath said filter pad, said tube holder having a vertical bore aligned with said aperture and a depending tubular nipple, a dip tube secured to said nipple and extending into said container, whereby pressure within said container is adapted to force the liquid content of said container upwardly through said tube and said vertical bore to wet said filter pad, said filter pad being adapted to evaporate said absorbed liquid to the atmosphere upon exposure of said pad to the atmosphere through said aperture, a cover provided with a recess in its lower surface, said recess and said boss having interengageable threads whereby said cover-may be secured to said boss to seal said filter pad against exposure to the atmosphere.

5. In combination, an aerosol container having a top wall provided with an aperture, a filter pad within said container, means within said container for holding said filter pad against said aperture to cover it, said filter pad being constantly exposed to the liquid contents of said container, said filter pad being adapted to absorb said liquid and to evaporate it to the atmosphere through said aperture, and means operable to cover or uncover said aperture to seal said filter pad from the atmosphere or to expose it to the atmosphere.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,494,793 Boe Jan. 17, 1950 2,594,539 Brown Apr. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 694,115 Great Britain July 15, 1953 718,074 Great Britain Nov. 10, 1954 

